Longue boucle des Croix depuis La Terrasse-sur-Dorlay

By car: on the A47 motorway from Lyon or Saint-Étienne, take exit 13 towards La Grand-Croix and go under the railway line. After 50 m at the large roundabout, turn right onto the D88 towards Saint-Paul-en-Jarez / Parc du Pilat. Drive through the town, then at the roundabout featuring a large miner’s lamp, turn left onto the D7 towards Saint-Paul-en-Jarez / Parc du Pilat. At the roundabout, continue straight on the D7 towards Pélussin / Parc du Pilat. At the double roundabout, continue straight ahead on the D7. At La Terrasse-sur-Dorlay, cross the bridge and immediately afterwards turn right into the town hall car park.

(S/E) Retrace your steps along the car route, cross the bridge on the left, ignore the dead-end on the left, turn right and head up Rue Louis Chapuis (the first on the left, Chapuy on the IGN map). Pass to the left of the church, ignore the Chemin du Petit Bois on the left and reach a crossroads.

(1) At the crossroads marked with a concrete cross, take the signposted Chemin des Souvenirs (Yellow/Red) straight ahead. Ignore the side paths, pass in front of the cemetery and continue straight ahead along a descending path. Cross a stream and follow a sunken path through the woodland to reach a junction.

(2) Ignore the two paths on the left and the one on the right. In the middle, follow the ascending path. After about 100 metres, ignore the paths on the right and left. Continue for about 500 m further (west) to a crossroads (elevation 647 m).

(3) At the Grands Champs signpost (alt. 658 m). Ignore the paths straight ahead and to the right. Turn left towards Chavanol. Climb a ridge (south) following the markings and ignoring the side paths throughout this section of approximately 3 km. After 200 m, at the unmarked signpost (alt. 680 m), ignore the sign for Chavanol 5.4 km to the left and instead follow the sign opposite for Chavanol 4.7 km.

(4) A good kilometre further on, at the Trémaret sign (elevation 751 m), continue towards Chavanol. After a high point (altitude 815 m), descend towards the hamlet of Chavanol, maintaining a south-south-westerly direction.

(5) Opposite a house, cross the road and go round the house on the left, keeping the street on your left. Turn right, walk along the back of the house and ignore the lane on the left. Both the road and the lane on the left lead to paths that disappear much further on into the undergrowth. Take the white/brown-marked path opposite (north-west), which starts running parallel to the road. After about 900 m, turn onto the first path on the left and head towards a junction with the^GR®®7.

(6) At the Gralison sign (alt. 820 m), leave the path opposite and the right-hand branch of^{the GR®®7}. Follow the left-hand branch for 2.5 km to reach the Croix du Planil junction (846 m). Cross the D76 road and continue straight on (south-east) towards a cross and, beyond that, the Auberge du Planil.

(7) In front of the inn, at the Le Planil sign (alt. 847 m), leave the road and take the path to the right of the inn towards the shepherd's hut. After 300 m, you reach a three-way junction (898 m). Ignore the paths to the right and straight ahead. Follow the^GR®®7to the left for 800 m, ignoring the side paths, to reach a crossroads (986 m) in an open area.

(8) At the Paumet sign (alt. 986 m), spelled Peumey on the IGN map. Cross a path, ignoring the tracks to the left and right. Stay on the path towards the shepherd's hut. About 30 m further on, reach a path; ignore its left-hand branch and follow the^GR®®7to the right. Continue along the^GR®®7, ignoring the side paths, cross a large scree slope called Le Grand Chirat (elevation 1191 m) and after 100 m reach a junction. At the unmarked signpost (alt. 1180 m), ignore the path on the right and climb the one on the left towards the shepherd's hut. You will come to a track 400 m further on (alt. 1210 m).

(9) Follow it up to the left. It curves to the left and, after 100 m, leave the path on the right and continue along the^GR®®7opposite. You will reach the junction between the^GR®®7and the path towards Doizieux (alt. 1283 m).

(10) Leave the^GR®®7, which continues to the right towards the shepherd's hut. Take a wide path marked in white and brown on the left, which descends (north). Walk along a cleared area on higher ground to the left and enter the forest to reach a junction on a logging platform (alt. 1200 m).

(11) At the end of the platform, you’ll come to a fork consisting of two narrow, parallel paths. Ignore the one on the right and continue along the one on the left (north). After about 150 m, leave the path heading straight ahead and follow the one on the left (north-west). Follow it downwards in a wide arc to the right to reach a junction (alt. 1070 m).

(12) Continue straight ahead on the path, which is still marked White/Brown, and ignore the one on the left. Reach a platform 100 m further on. Cross it and take the path leading down opposite. You will come to two houses and their access road. Follow it down to the left and continue along a road to reach a junction marked with a sign: La Roche.

(13) Ignore the road straight ahead. Continue for 200 m along the White/Brown-marked path to the right until you reach a fork. Leave the road that turns right. Follow the marked path to the left for 1 km in a wide right-hand bend and reach a junction (elevation 826 m).

(14) Ignore a marked path on the right. Continue the descent slightly to the left and, 50 m further on, turn right, ignoring the path straight ahead. At Le Bruchet, reach a road (alt. 780 m).

(15) Ignore the path on the left and the road on the right and continue along the one opposite for about 200 m. Leave it at its right-hand bend for a path running straight ahead and, after 400 m, rejoin it on the left. Pass a right-hand bend and, as you come out of the bend, leave the road for a signposted path descending to the left. Pass a water reservoir and, 400 m further on, reach a road.

(16) Ignore the signposted branch on the right and turn onto the unmarked one on the left. Pass through the hamlet of La Bredouze, go down Rue Freyssonnet to the right and, after a left-hand bend, reach a crossroads.

(17) Ignore the road opposite and the one on the right. Turn left onto the D76 towards La Vialle. After leaving Freyssonnet, leave the D76 at its left-hand bend (elevation 594 m) and take the small road to La Vialle on the right. Pass through La Vialle, then cross Le Mas and, just before the penultimate house, turn right into a narrow lane, then left and right again onto a grassy, muddy path heading downhill (north). About 100 m further on, it turns north-east. Ignore the paths on the left and rejoin the D76 (cross on the right-hand side).

(18) Follow the D76 on the left, crossing the Dorlay bridge. Just after, in the bend, leave the D76 as it turns left and head up the road towards Saint-Just on the right. In the left-hand bend, in front of a cross, leave the road and climb the narrow, steep path on the right. At the top, rejoin the road on the right to reach a crossroads at the entrance to Saint-Just.

(19) Ignore the streets on the right and left. Opposite, head up Rue des Châtaigniers (north-east) alongside the cemetery wall. Cross the village of Saint-Just, ignoring the side streets; pass the École Saint-Just on your left and, keeping in the same direction, head for the Croix des Rameaux crossroads.

(20) Ignore the street on the left and the second on the right towards L'Ollagnière. Turn onto the first street on the right (signposted Stade/Frachure). Head straight up to the stadium, ignoring the side roads. Walk alongside the stadium and, about 300 m further on, reach a clearing at the edge of a wood (elevation 732 m). Ignore the side paths signposted and continue for 300 m along the road running alongside the forest.

(21) Leave the road and ignore the marked path running along the left-hand side of the road opposite. Take the path directly to the left for 150 m. At the junction, leave the path and turn right onto the straight forest track (east). Follow it for about 500 m until you reach a fork marked by a large pile of stones.

(22) Ignore the track on the right and continue along the one on the left (north-east). At around 930 m, head east-southeast and reach a crossroads.

(23) At the unmarked sign (alt. 979 m). Ignore the track on the right towards Collet de Doizieux, as well as the path opposite, and turn onto the White/Brown-marked path furthest to the left towards Croix de Montvieux (north-west). After a kilometre in open country, ignore the path descending to the left towards Veylon and continue straight on. On leaving the forest, ignore the road on the left leading to Veylon. Continue straight ahead and, just after Le Châtelard, ignore the path going in the opposite direction to the right and head for the Croix de Montvieux junction.

(24) Cross the D62 road and, at the sign for La Croix de Montvieux (elevation 811m), ignore the path leading to the car park opposite. Take the marked path on the left towards La Croix du Mazet. Follow the level path marked in white and brown, go round the bend to the left and reach a fork (elevation 824m).

(25) Ignore the path on the left, then 30 m further on, the one on the right. Turn right and begin the descent. Ignore the side paths and follow a damp, stony sunken track to the Croix du Mazet junction (altitude 650 m).

(26) At the Croix du Mazet signpost, ignore the path straight ahead and the two roads to the right. Follow the D7 to the left towards Montieux for about 200 m. Leave it by taking a small road to the right (Le Carré sign) until you reach the right-hand bend in front of the Carré farm.

(27) Leave the signposted path towards Montieux on the right. Take the wide hairpin bend to the left and descend to the bottom of the valley (east). Cross the stream and continue level across the opposite side of the valley (south-west). Reach the hamlet of Chez Jacquin. Return to the D7 opposite and, after 100 m, reach a fork.

(28) Leave the D7 and take the ascending road to the left (signposted Croix de Montvieux). Pass through the hamlet of Le They and, 500 m further on, reach a hairpin bend to the left (alt. 618 m). Leave the road and continue along a path to the right for about 100 metres to reach the junction at the Croix du Pendu.

(29) At the unmarked signpost (alt. 670 m), ignore the path on the right and continue straight on towards La Terrasse-sur-Dorlay along a descending track that turns left. Ignore the tracks leading to Moulin Micol and Les Places, as well as the side paths, and stay on the small tarmac road heading roughly west to reach a junction at the hamlet of Verdat.

(30) At the sign for La Terrasse-sur-Dorlay (alt. 470 m), ignore the street on the right and the one going in the opposite direction on the left. Go down Rue André Menut opposite. In the centre of the village, reach Rue Albin Planchon. Take it to the left, then 10 m further on, turn left again to return to the car park (S/E).

Route identification
From point (S/E) to point (16) Conventional signposting.
From point (16) to point (23) Unmarked route.
From point (23) to point (27) Standard signposting.
From point (27) to point (29) Unmarked route.
From point (29) to the bridge (S/E) Standard signposting.

IBPindex = 137: classified as very difficult for an average hiker, it is moderate for a hiker in good physical condition.

Near La Terrasse-sur-Dorlay, the educational farm ‘Le Carré des Animaux’ offers a great day out for the whole family.